The Hidden Truth
by Suzumiya Konata
Summary: One day, while Ran is cleaning Shinichi's house, a certain member of the syndicate hastily makes his move... Ran is targeted to lure Shinichi to them. There starts a fierce battle between the silver bullet and the criminal organization. Will it all end?
1. Prologue

**Author's note by Kona-chan the otaku writer: Whoo! This is the greatest that's ever come out of my keyboard! I love this Prologue. If I could, I'd just copy and paste it in all the chapters! Heh, Bourbon is Okiya in this one. What a surprise, I think not. ^^**

**Shinichi: No! Are you serious? I'm only at book 56!**

**Kona-chan: *death glare***

**Shinichi: (shivering) Su-Su-Suzumiyia-san does n-not own D-Detective Conan!**

**Kona-chan: Arigatou!**

**

* * *

**_"Yes, Boss."_

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**

11:23 PM - Kudo Household

A man is talking on the phone, a cup of Bourbon in his hands.

"… yes. That child. I seem to have misjudged him. He isn't a child. You have utterly failed… Yes. Why don't you come along to clean up your mistake, eh?"

The phone is hung up on the other line. His vile smile softly turns into a grin.

"I'll take that as a yes… Gin!"

* * *

_"Karasu, naze naku no?"_

* * *

**So, how was it? It was great, right? Oh, I know it was, you're flattering me. Vermouth is a key element in this story, though it doesn't look so. I'm guessing she's the boss.**

**Shinichi: Off the mark.**

**Kona-chan: That's it you're not in this story.**

**Shinichi: NOOOOO!**

**Kona-chan: Kidding, kidding.**

**Shinichi: Oi, oi.**

**Minna: Thank you for reading and reviewing! You deserve smoked cheese!  
**


	2. First contact

**Author's note by Kona-chan the otaku writer: **Voila! This story is reborn as an even better version. I find the old one lacked something… And I dropped the first-person. This is way easier, if I do say so myself. And so, certain modifications were made to make this more realistic. And now that I've studied Okiya a bit more, it'll be much better. Oh, and thanks to Pu7o for the confirmation that Okiya is left-handed.

**Beika-cho **means Beika District  
**Tantei** means detective  
**Otou-san** means father  
**Baka **means idiot  
**Ahou** means idiot in Kansai dialect.  
**Konbanwa** means good afternoon  
**Neechan **means older sister, although Heiji uses this term to refer to Ran.  
**Hakase** means professor, though it is typically used to address to anyone with the rank of a scientist.

**Disclaimer: I do NOT and will never own Detective Conan. If I did, I would be on an island, running from my editors with a laptop on my lap, and enjoying the ocean breeze of the beach. Not in front of this very screen even bothering to write this. Wakarimasu ka?**

* * *

_"Karasu, naze naku no?_"

* * *

It was a bright July afternoon in Beika-cho. Rays of sunlight shone through the windows of the Mouri Tantei Agency. Ran was preparing to leave for her childhood friend's house to put things in order. He had been on a big case for over three months now and Ran had decided to keep his home tidy during his absence.

"Otou-san, I'm going now!" Ran shouted to her father, who was drunk and asleep on his desk. Ran frowned at his incessant snoring.

"Otou-san!" she repeated, with still no answer. Sighing, she turned off the television and left. At the doorstep, she paused to send a mail to Conan-kun informing him of where she was going.

On her way, thoughts clouded her mind. Shinichi wasn't calling as often as he used to and every time he did, the conversation was very brief and passive. That deduction otaku was being a baka. Didn't he think about others? When he came to visit, it was always the same thing. He would choose the case over Ran and end up leaving, sending Conan-kun as the bearer of bad news. And he always looked so sick… Ran began to wonder about his case. Was it safe? Shinichi never told her any details, but she assumed it wasn't that bad… Now, she began to doubt.

When Shinichi's house was in view, Ran's thoughts drifted elsewhere, to a darker side. She wondered about Subaru Okiya. Mere images of him made her shiver. There was something in that man's eyes, something screaming that he couldn't be trusted. On the day he had asked about Shinichi, the day she first met the man, Ran's words had acted faster than her brain, only listening to her instincts. If he was that dangerous, then why had Shinichi let him live in his house? It wasn't his type, to shelter such a treacherous being. Maybe he had his reasons. Ran decided to trust Shinichi in his actions, deeply believing that he couldn't be wrong.

Ran unlocked his friend's house, only to be welcomed by the person she wanted to see the least. Okiya greeted her.

"Welcome, Mouri-san."

Ran slightly bowed.

"Konbanwa."

There it was again, that uneasy she had gotten when she first met him. She almost decided to return home but decided to stay. She needed to have faith in Shinichi.

When Okiya followed her to the library she became a bit tensed, but hid it. She fished for a duster in Shinichi's drawer and started to dust the antique books. Okiya just stood behind her, observing her, which made Ran very nervous. She wished she had come with Sonoko, but her best friend was in Europe during the vacation. Even after Sonoko's constant pestering, Ran had to refuse her invitation to come with her. Who would take care of poor Conan-kun and her father while she was gone on a two-month long trip?

Ran flinched when she heard the sound of metal being dragged on something hard. What was the man doing?

"So, Mouri-san. Your friend Shinichi sure has a lot of books, doesn't he?"

Ran nodded. She sensed danger, and it was coming her way, getting closer and closer.

"Especially Sherlock Holmes, huh? It's a shame he isn't a detective."

Ran stood silent as Okiya walked up to her. She couldn't see him, but she sensed his presence. With a swift movement, she turned around and saw him with a metal pipe raised above his head, ready to strike. Luckily, Ran's reflexes acted fast and she blocked the blow with her arm. She then unloaded a series of punches in the man's stomach, ending with a kick that knocked him on the ground. To her bewilderment, he stood up with ease and maniacally grinned at Ran.

"Looks like this is going to be more interesting than planned…"

He lunged forward with his pipe once more, a shot that Ran dodged. She sent another kick to his head as he got closer. The shock made him tumble to the desk, sending it crashing into the library behind it and resulting into books falling.

"I don't know what you want with Shinichi…" Ran said as she shifted back into stance. "…but I'm not going to let you have it!"

She stood surprised when Okiya got up and tossed his weapon behind, making more books fall. Why had he done that? Ran dreaded his next move.

"If that's the case, then I'll go for the second option." he whispered loud enough for Ran to hear as he pulled a handkerchief out from his pocket. "I guess this is more convenient for a woman after all."

He moistened the fabric with a strange liquid he had taken from a drawer. Ran could have tried to run away during that time but she was determined to make everything stop. She wanted to defeat the man, for Shinichi's sake. She knew that he had something to do with her childhood friend's big case, and that this was something that would make things easier for her childhood friend, and that was within her reach.

Okiya started to walk towards Ran and she was already in defensive when he suddenly said something that made her turn around.

"Oh, it's that boy with the glasses!" he said as he looked towards the entrance. "It would be a shame for him to be dragged in all of this…"

When she looked and saw Conan-kun wasn't there, she understood. For one reason or another, he wanted to divert her attention from him. Ran tried to turn around, but something was immediately put to her mouth. She attempted to break free from Okiya's iron grip but to no avail. The substance on the handkerchief was already taking effect. She struggled to fight it, but it was no use

"Shini…chi…" she uttered as her body limply fell to the floor with a silent thud.

As a certain seven-year old boy was walking up the stairs to the Mouri Tantei Agency, he felt a horrible feeling along with a shiver. As if somebody was calling him. A name immediately rushed to his head.

"Ran…"

"Are you going to stand there forever?" Conan heard from inside the Agency. The voice was too familiar. It couldn't be…

When he entered, he got his certification. Heiji Hattori stood with Kazuha Toyama next to the sofa.

"_You guys again…_" he thought. "_Oi, oi!_"

"So, where's neechan, Kudo?" Heiji didn't notice Kazuha's glare written 'why did you call him Kudou again' all over it. Conan decided not to tell the detective in Kazuha's presence. He felt something had gone wrong, and didn't want to involve anybody. He made Heiji understand that with a nod.

"Kazuha." Heiji started. "Go look for neechan, I think she's somewhere near that department store next to the school."

Kazuha frowned and let out a sigh. "Fine, but come and join me later!"

"Ahou." Heiji mumbled under his breath as his childhood friend ran out in search of Ran. His expression then turned serious as he looked at Conan. "What is it this time?"

"I just have this feeling... I don't know how to explain it." he said with a troubled expression. "Anyway, we have to go to my house."

They hurried to the Kudo household only to find the open gate creaking noisily. The open door added weight to the horrible feeling Conan had. He rushed inside followed by Heiji. The library was a mess complimented by the lingering smell of chloroform. Ran's cell phone lay on the ground.

"_Where's Okiya? This can't be..."_

"It would seem that that guy took neechan. I had warned you, Kudo."

Conan stood speechless until he suddenly began to cough.

"Oi, Kudo! Are you alright?" Heiji asked.

"Yeah." Conan answered between coughs. "Just a small cold. That's not important at the moment anyway–"

He was overcome with a series of coughs again.

"_Damn, why do I have a cold in a moment like this..."_ he thought. "_A cold... Of course!"_

"We're going to Hakase's!" Conan exclaimed before running out the door.

"Hold on!" Heiji shouted only to a pile of books, seeing as Conan was gone. What he then heard on the radio on the desk made him widen his eyes.

"The next song by request will be the famous child's song Nanatsu no Ko, along with a message to a certain Edogawa in Beika. Nine, six, four. That was a message from Vermouth, she calls herself. Now if I were Edogawa, I'd listen carefully because I don't know if I'm the only one, but I really don't get it."

As the song ensued, Heiji exited the house and headed for Hakase's in a sprint.

* * *

Light engulfed Ran's eyes as she opened them. She was in a well-lit room without much furniture. She tried to get up but her wrists were tied. She recollected the events and searched for an exit. The doors were unfortunately locked and when she heard footsteps, Ran hurried back to the corner of the room and faked unconsciousness.

Steps echoed in the room. They had to be at least two. She recognized one of them as Okiya as he spoke.

"She still isn't awake, eh?"

The other one spoke in a low voice. You could know that he was dangerous by hearing him speak.

"You know you can't keep playing with the rats like this..." the second man said as a clicking sound was heard. "...or else."

"I understand." Okiya answered as they both left the room.

"_Just who are these people?"_ Ran wondered. "_Shinichi, where are you?"_

* * *

"No! You can't go!" Haibara shouted at Conan. He had stormed in their house and bluntly announced that he was about to face the organization head on and that he needed an antidote. Haibara was shocked by the announcement and immediately voiced her disagreements.

"I am going and you are not stopping me." he snapped back, before breaking into a coughing fit "You know I'm going to search the house even if you don't give it to me, so… just do it!"

Hakase tried to calm the quarrel. "Now, now, Shinichi-kun. Would you just explain what happened? Ai-kun might understand the situation a bit more." he turned to Haibara. "Right, Ai-kun?"

She just looked away and started "Yeah, right. You just jump into danger without thinking. Is that really how detectives ar–"

"Ran's been kidnapped. It's them." Conan's words caught the young scientist off guard. How could something like this happen? she thought before thinking it out. The only way they could have gotten to her is through a member who had befriended Ran and gained her trust. The NOC's son had been confirmed innocent through the FBI and…

She was cut in her thoughts when somebody began thumping wildly on the house's door. Haibara's blood froze. "Could it be… them… They've come…"

"Idiot." Conan answered between coughs. "That's just Hattori."

He answered the door and a furious Osaka detective stepped in shouting "How much time does it take to open a damn door?" along with other complaints, none the nicer.

Heiji walked towards a chair and sighed as he sat. "I have news for you, Kudo. I just heard something on the radio, and it isn't good news either."

He looked at Conan's eager face and started wondering if he should really inform him. He knew the small detective would immediately rush into the lion's mouth, despite his state. If it was for Ran, that guy would jump a cliff!

The Osakan sighed, and then started. "A request for that song… Nanatsu no Ko."

"Nanatsu no Ko?" Hakase echoed, horrified. He gently motioned for Haibara to leave and the scientist reluctantly left for her laboratory.

"I'll try to work something out." was the barely audible reply from Haibara as she entered the dark room and slammed the door behind her.

"Go on!" Conan pressed Heiji. "What else did the message say?"

The Osakan detective focused on a speck of dust on the table. He couldn't say it, for he knew what would happen: Kudo would rush there in that horrible state of his without thinking. His thoughts were interrupted by the angered shrunken detective's argument.

"Hattori!"

"Fine." he closed his eyes. "Nine, six, four. A message from Vermouth, she called herself."

Conan gasped, but quickly recovered from the surprise and ordered Hakase to get a map from a nearby drawer. When the item was delivered, he immediately began checking the longitudes and latitudes and found nothing.

Hold on, he thought silently. Why would they give me a hint? Their goal isn't to bait me to their headquarters… or is it? There's also another possibility I can't ray out… It's possible this is only Vermouth's personal activity. Her attributes have to be trusted, at least for now. Conan slightly smiled. It's the only chance we have.

"Oi, Kudo!" Heiji interrupted Conan's thoughts. "You were spacing out, did you figure something out?"

Conan shook his head. "No, just thinking…"

Nine, six, four… the shrunken detective kept repeating himself. Why English numbers? That translates to Ku-Ro-Shi… Kuroshi!

"I've got it!" echoed Heiji and Conan in unison. Hakase stood bewildered at their synchronization.

"But why so… straightforward?" Conan asked his comrade between small coughs.

"I was thinking more complicated, which is why it took a while…"

After a while, he added: "Kudo, I don't think this is a good idea. What other motive would they have to make the hint do easy? Kudo Shinichi is a renowned detective. It's obvious it's a trap. I'm telling you this, before you make your decision, even though I doubt you'll take a word I say: Don't barge in blindly."

The small detective got up from his seat and simply said: "I know that, but I can't." he walked to Hakase and inquired: "Is the skateboard ready?"

The professor said no more and handed the gadget to the Conan. He knew anything he said wouldn't change his mind and would only make him more stressed than he already was.

"Just don't overwork yourself, Shinichi." he said as Conan was testing the newly-charged skateboard. "You seem to have caught a cold, and also… Don't be too reckless, please. I know this is for Ran-kun but…"

Conan just smiled. "I'll try."

When he and Heiji had already walked out the door, a small shadow lurked around the door to the laboratory. As the shadow heard the roaring of a motorcycle's engine, the person gritted their teeth.

"Idiot…"

* * *

_"Good night, Angel"_

_-Vermouth  
_

* * *

Owari! Not bad for a first chapter, eh? Can you guess who the shadow is? It's kind of obvious, but still. About Heiji's accent, I didn't try to do it with the "ya" and the "aint", because it just doesn't work for me. You know he's from Osaka, so it shouldn't be a problem.

I'll try update soon, so be ready for my fic on top of the list! Your reviews always help me, and I'd like to say thanks to Pu7o, honorthief, Walkes1777, 2 be loved and Myvampirepuppy for reviewing the past version. Your reviews helped me make this better. Arigatou!

Look forward to the next chapter! Bye-niiii!


	3. Under Cloudy Skies

**Author's note by Kona-chan the otaku writer: This one was completed a while ago, but just needed formatting, which I was too lazy to do for a long time. I hope you enjoy this!**

**Shinichi: Suzumiya-san does not own Detective Conan! If she did, it would be so very cheap and not half as entertaining.**

**Kona-chan: Oi.**

**Shinichi: I understand.**

**

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**

The rain left an eerie feeling as droplets fell on Conan. The strong howling wind made him shiver. When leaving the professor's house, he hadn't even bothered grab an overcoat or vest for he was too busy desperately attempting to hide his fear.

Fear that he'd arrive too late.

Fear that Ran wouldn't be able to wait for him.

Shortly after the detectives had left, they decided to both ride on Heiji's motorcycle, seeing as it would be faster, and would not worsen the small detective's state.

They were headed to where they had deducted Kuroshi was: an old pharmaceutical factory where an incident had occurred. A robbery mounted by four comrades had resulted into the destruction, or almost, of the building through explosives. Despite the capture of the culprits and the end of the investigations, the factory was never restored. The building's address: 964, or Kuroshi. The case sounded familiar to Conan, but since he failed to remember it, he brushed the thought away.

After what seemed an eternity to the shrunken detective, they finally arrived in a seemingly deserted district. No cars were in sight, and there was no trace of life at all. The old buildings seemed close to falling apart and looked like they were erected years ago.

It was the place.

Kuroshi's main pavilion was the tallest one. Its windows were perfectly aligned and almost all of them were damaged. The building was particularly in bad shape. A strange aura emanated from it.

"Is neechan really here?"

"We can't know before we see for ourselves…"

Heiji grinned. "I was talking about your sensors. Do you feel her presence? I mean, you guys are linked like glue, you know."

"Oi, Hattori!" Conan answered with a blush on his face, "How many times do I have to tell you? It's not like that!"

He snickered in response.

They cautiously entered while Conan adjusted his watch in position. Without a sound, they made their way through the numerous storage rooms filled with boxes. Just as they were about to enter a smaller room, they heard shuffling behind them.

"Don't stop walking. Continue," Conan whispered to Heiji. He sped his pace a bit more and turned the corner.

"Now, run!"

To their dismay, it was a dead end. An eye recognition device blocked the door in front of them, and there was no escape route anymore. The shuffling steps continued.

Conan began coughing, part from the sprint and part from the cold getting worse. He knew somebody was coming, and he could do nothing against it. He prepared his tranquilizing dart, expecting the worse to come from the corner.

Heiji prepared to close-combat whoever might be coming.

Who they saw next shocked them.

"Even after I warned you, you still went, ne?" she sighed, "I guess detectives like to dig their own graves… Kudo-kun."

"H-Haibara?" was Conan's surprised reply between coughs.

"You're that girl who lives with the old man!"

Haibara crossed her arms on her chest, "How rude. What if it wasn't me? What would you have done, Kudo-kun?"

Conan ignored her last words. "Why are you here, Haibara? So you really were eavesdropping when we were talking about the address."

She walked towards the device stapled on the wall. "That isn't important right now. I was supposed to bring you back per Hakase's request, but… I know that isn't going to happen any time soon, so I decided to bring you something."

She opened her palm to reveal a small red and white pill. Just as Conan was about to reach for it, Haibara retracted her hand.

"What are you–"

"This is just a prototype." the scientist interrupted. "I brought this for the worst scenario possible. You should only use it when you have no choice. Also, with your immune system down because of that cold, it might last longer than expected."

Conan reached for the pill once more, but failed to get it.

"I'll keep this for now, and give it to you when the time comes. If your cold is too intense, it would be better to forget this." she pointed at her hand.

The small detective sighed. "That's no reason for you to stay here."

"Oh, but there is," Haibara said with a mischievous smile on her face, "See that over there?" she pointed at the device.

Heiji and Conan peered at the small machine.

"Don't you think Sherry can help?"

"Ah!" Heiji exclaimed, "The small neechan used to be in the organization, so she could trespass through that device!"

Less than a few moments later, they were headed through another maze of rooms filled with boxes. As they walked, Conan asked a question while keeping his guard up.

"Why are there so many boxes here?"

"That's because this is the Research and Development facility."

"Research and Development?" Heiji echoed. "Why would they keep neechan here?"

Just then, Conan's cell phone began to ring. It was Shinichi's. He quickly grabbed his voice-changing bowtie and checked the caller ID.

Ran.

"Ran!"

"Shinichi…" came the response in whispers.

Heiji and Haibara both turned to Conan. They were relieved to hear news from Ran.

"Ran, are you alright? Where are you?" Conan asked without taking a breath between the numerous questions that followed.

"I don't know… It's somewhere with a sofa… and the walls and ceiling are yellow!"

Haibara motioned to Conan to put the conversation on speakerphone.

"Do you know the address? What happened?"

"I was cleaning you house and then… the man living at your house, he…"

"Those details aren't important now!" Conan snapped. "Just tell me your location!"

There was then an agonizingly piercing noise ringing above Ran's whispers, rendering her voice imperceptible.

"Damn!" Conan said as he began to cough loudly.

"Hold on," Haibara started. "That's interference, so she must be nearby!"

There must be somewhere, the small detective thought as he scanned the area. Somewhere close… Ran, where are you?

His thoughts turned to the worse. He couldn't hear Ran anymore. What if she had gotten caught contacting somebody? Those guys showed no pity, even to somebody like Ran… Would it end like that? Simply because he was selfish and still got involved with her as Conan? If only he hadn't left her that day. If only he hadn't left…

"If only…" he found himself saying out loud.

"Oi, Kudo!" Heiji snapped him out of his thoughts, "I think there's a light peeping from that door over there."

He pointed at a sturdy looking door which, indeed, had light flashing from its sides.

"That's it!" he got up a bit too fast and immediately felt dizziness which made him fall back into a kneeling position.

"What's wrong? Oi, you're sweating!"

"It's nothing. Nothing at all. We have to find Ran, that's the priority." he answered Heiji's question. He put his hand to his head and felt it burning on his palm.

Why now?

He got back up a bit slower and motioned to Haibara and Heiji to come closer to the door. No sound was audible from that side. Without an ounce of hesitation, he opened the door and charged in without thinking.

"Ahou!" Heiji shouted at him when he was already in the room.

Nobody was in view. He inspected the room from left to right and his eyes stopped at a corner. There she was. Ran.

Upon seeing Conan, Ran's expression became pained.

"Conan-kun, why did you come?"

He ignored her words and felt relief pouring inside him. He hurried to Ran and quickly untied her wrists. Both Heiji and Haibara were now in the room, also feeling relieved.

"Hattori-kun… Ai-chan?" Ran spoke, puzzled.

"It's a long story," was Haibara's reply, which Ran took as a complete answer for the time being. The situation they were in was a priority, and explanations were trivial at the moment.

She noticed something in Conan's behavior as he was talking to Heiji about something concerning a hideout and men in black. He was different. Almost like… Shinichi. Whenever she was in danger, he was always like that. In those moments, a small thought crossed her mind, but left immediately after. It was impossible, after all. That he could be…

She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps down the hall. Somebody was coming their way!

Conan knew they had no escape. The door they had come in from was locked, and the only other way to get outside was the exit where the person was coming at them. Quickly, he made a decision.

"Haibara…" he whispered, "That prototype antidote you made… I need it."

"No," was the scientist's concrete answer. "Your cold's only getting worse."

"But this is the only way!" he snapped back with a low voice. "This is the moment. If you don't give it to me, we'll all perish. Do you want that?"

Heiji turned around from where he was protectively standing in front of the trio. He knew what Conan was trying to do.

He saw Haibara reluctantly handing a small pill to Conan. The latter was looking worse than he did moments ago. This was not a good idea at all.

Conan ran towards the door which led to a linked room and was about to close the door when Ran caught a glimpse of him.

"Conan-kun, where–"

"I'll be back," he interrupted and then smiled, "Ran-neechan."

* * *

**Aaaand CUT! Gomen for the cliffhanger. It'll get very suspense-y in the next chapters. I'll try to update more often from now on.**

**Shinichi: Emphasis on the TRY.**

**Kona-chan: Oi.**

**Shinichi: And is "suspense-y" even a word? Where did you learn english?**

**Kona-chan: OI!**

**Minna: Thank you for reading and reviewing! You deserve Smoked Cheese!**


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